


436 Baker

by Artistic_Fuss



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Death, Gen, Gore, Harm to Children, M/M, Royal Spymaster Daud (Dishonored), Torture, all chapters will have more in detail warnings, dead bodies, let daud be at peace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-11-04 11:12:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 12,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17897351
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artistic_Fuss/pseuds/Artistic_Fuss
Summary: When the Whaler's come across something bigger than they are, Daud brings in Corvo and the Watch. No one was ready for how much this discovery would change, and it rocks not just Daud and the Whalers' lives, but the entire empire. A new Spymaster without training? A new offshoot of guards with a connection to the Void? A Spymaster with connections and a near complete control of the underworld of Dunwall and beyond? The Empire is not ready, and some are bent on removing the Spymaster and Royal Protector from power.





	1. The Cellar

**Author's Note:**

> This would not have happened without my friends. So thank you.

TW: Gore, blood, maggots, dead bodies, dismemberment, rotting bodies, harm of children, mention of pedophilia 

 

Another hit, always and forever another hit. In slow or in the busiest of times. The Whalers are in and out of noble homes and hovels dug into the bases of the rich. When money is slow they take anything. They hike up prices to cover the cost of living and the slow trickling of money into their pockets. Daud refuses to allow his Whalers to go hungry.

Even higher prices for jobs Daud is unsure of. Such as this one, low paying even with the heightened price. A mother lost her daughter, and she is certain she knows where her girl is held. The Whalers trust their master. He has been at this longer than a majority of them have been alive, years older than a number of their parents. This does not mean they trust each other the same way. So all jobs go through Daud. He has approved this job, even with the lack of evidence or anything of proof. It has been a month since their last job. Any money is needed.   
  
The head of this squad knows all of the information. He thinks the job will be simple, turn up nothing. Daud may differ, but that is the difference between him and his men. Either way, Daud has the basic information about this hit. Place, name, location, and pay. It is all Daud cares to know in times of their need. He might down a beggar in the street if that was what was called upon in times like this; unlikely as that may be. They carry usual equipment with them since this is to be nothing big.   
  
The rolling head of some low life pedophile is all the job will be, of that they are sure.   
  
Baker, 436. They stake out the building for a couple of days, simply to learn the man’s pattern. Watch him enter and leave like any other in the district. They play cards in turns, making maps of the building and labelling entrance points. There is a cellar door that is sealed shut, and it seems to be the perfect entry point. As much as many of the Whalers prefer to stay above their kills, this home is low, so coming up from underground is more convenient. All doors are kept locked, and the cellar smells of rot. Perfect. The plague may have kept the man from opening it. That makes the cellar an even more advantageous place to enter from.

Thank the Void for gas masks.

They listen as the final night announcement dies in the speakers, and their boots hit the dirt near the cellar. The smell drifts through their masks, it is no wonder no one walks past.   
  
Kent’s boot connects with the cellar door with a crack, and it falls in. The smell makes them all gag. They are all going to head back to the Flooded District and demand a visit to the Bath Houses… 

It is pitch black in the cellar except what light is draining in from the moon. The flooring is a dark brown, too smooth to be wood. It is much shorter than it looked from the outside. The Whalers will need to bend over to fit.

“What in the Void, Kent?” Cleon chokes on his words, coughing behind his mask. “Are we hunting a Weeper for Outsider’s sake?”   
  
“Might be an old Weep den. Just hold your nose.” 

“A wonderful suggestion, I’ll make sure to remember that next time. Twit.”

The third member of their squad snorts behind her mask and hops into the cellar. Her boot goes straight through what they all presumed to be the floor.

It squelches, a worse sound than stepping into the mud, and she sinks in up to her knees. Void! It must have flooded in the street. The boys are laughing behind her as she lifts her foot to take another step. It comes out caked in rot and maggots. They try to calm their laughing as to not alert their prey, but it is not working very well, especially as she takes another step.

Jordon looks back at the two boys. “Mind getting a board maybe? Can’t go tracking muck up into his house.” Every word hisses from behind her mask.

Kent and Cleon settle enough to find a plank and slide it in next to her. She climbs onto it and it sinks, less than her boots, but enough that the muck curls over onto the board. Kent pushes it deeper just to mess with her but is knocked over by how quickly she blinks out.

He and Cleon laugh until they see what has shocked her. What scared a master Whaler so much she panicked.

There is a hand, bloated, rotting, and crawling with maggots, that is reaching high out of the muck. Fingers curled up, grasping for the light coming from a slot in the floor.

“Damn Weepers.” Jordon starts to climb back onto the board. She has decided it will be easiest to break the floorboards above them and climb in that way. They can see the light of where the man is anyway. She begins to break the boards, snapping them and dropping them into the cellar.

When from a corner of the cellar, moaning and groaning starts, escalating into screams of pain and sobbing. She freezes. Weepers. Void damned Weepers that have been lost to sealed rooms. Only, words can be made out in the sounds of pain. The man above them stomps hard on the flooring, pieces falling into the muck, and the crying dies down. The Whalers look at each other.

Not Weepers. Weepers would have moaned more, tried to climb.

 Then they look to the muck, and it is writhing. All across the ground is moving bodies. Bunches of hair, hands, sunken skulls.

 “Please..? Are-are you here to help us?”

All three’ heads swivel to the corner that started the racket. A dark face with choppy hair, caked in blood stares across the mess at them.

The young girl is pulled from the muck as quickly as the three can manage. One takes her to a roof while the others go pull free another seven, finally, four more, gasping for breath.

They work quickly to clean the children, and rush them somewhere they know is safe.

The Whalers’ doctor is flooded with children.

The three Whalers are shaken. They push into Daud’s office. He is standing waiting for them. They were to be back by sunrise but the sun is at its’ highest point in the sky now. He is furious, and they all know it.

But there were so many bodies. So many. That cellar was filled with them.

Daud is furious but there is something in those eyes that tells the Whalers he knows. He demands them to go clean up, to not drag Weeper grime into the building. He will finish this job. They thank him but are not done, there is more.

“It’s bodies, master Daud. Young bodies. We carried as many of the living back as we could. Aunt Rhody has them now. We were scared to the Void…” Jordon swallows. “It is worse than the Weeper pits.”

“I’ll watch my feet.”

“You... may need more than that, sir.”

“I will handle it! Leave!”

They are too shaken to argue further.


	2. Lord Protector

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Descriptions of dead bodies, body horror, harm of children
> 
> Daud's hands shake with old blood and memories of where he came from, and he knows this man will pay a price higher than his life.

Thomas is standing beside Daud, handing over his master's weaponry, watching as he clicks his crossbow into place and slides his blade into its sheath. 

 

“The job at Baker went sour.” His hand goes through his hair and it falls out of place. “We’ll finish the job.”

 

“Of course, Master.”

 

They take Daud’s top assassins, numbering them to a group of four. They all know Daud will be the only one entering the home. The rest are there to keep everything in line. It takes the group less than a quarter of the time to get to Baker than it took the last group to return to the Commerce building. Their struggle is evident in the blood-slicked roofs. Childrens’ footprints lead them along their path.

 

People mill about now in the midday sun, covering their faces from the stench. They have called the Watch, but all they do is look for limping Weepers, not bothering to investigate. So the Whalers station themselves around the block. 

 

Thomas stays close to Daud in the alley. He never leaves the side of his master. The more loyal man Daud has by far, pulled by devotion and love. They kneel by the broken cellar door. This is all wrong, there is no touch of Void in this place. No influence of a chaotic god. Every sense in Daud’s body is triggering horror throughout him. 

 

Daud is not quite sure what he expected to find, but it certainly was not this. Perhaps he expected the man to move the bodies once he found the cellar open, or even set the building alight. Neither was the case, as every single thing is how the Whalers left it. From the board to the footsteps through it all. 

 

A Whaler drops down beside them. “He has locked himself on the main floor, Master. Shall we break a window?”

 

“No, no. Don’t alert him more than he is. We still do this job as cleanly as we can. Alert no one, do not be seen.” His voice is stern, emphasizing the need to stay hidden.

 

“Yes, Master.” And the Whaler is gone, back to their post somewhere on the rooftops. 

 

Daud steps down carefully, resting his weight on the board his Whalers had been using. He holds his hand out, keeping Thomas outside. Thomas watches through the glass of his mask, following Daud’s eyes move across the mass of corpses. Daud reaches in, pulling the fabric away from a fresh body. It has print written across it.

 

He recognizes it. Distinctly. Memories of rotting men flood him, and he builds a dam in his mind quickly, blocking them out for the most part. Initials and numbers. He knows the initials. They come from his past. A dark and blood-soaked corner of it from when he was younger than twenty. 

 

The days his hands became soaked in blood. 

 

“Fetch Corvo. This is bigger than the Whalers. The courts must be informed.” Thomas is shocked, looking at Daud as if he has just admitted that his life is a lie. “Tell him to bring the Watch.” 

 

Thomas sways for a moment. “Yes, Master. I will inform him at once.” Then Thomas is gone, rushing away to Dunwall Tower, leaving Daud to his mind and the rot.

 

Corvo is never hard to find, and never jumpy when a Whaler or Daud himself shows up in his window. So Thomas stepping into his office puts no fear into him. He greets the Whaler and turns to his paperwork. 

 

“We need help, Lord Protector.” Corvo is out of his desk in an instant. 

 

_ Help?   _ His hands move smoothly, with only a hint of concern. The concern can be found in his face, as well.

 

“We found a cellar of bodies. Children’s bodies we believe. A few of our men managed to rescue a few, we don’t think there are any more alive.” 

 

_ Bodies… how many? Where? Where’s Daud?  _ His movements jerk now, he is growing anxious. 

 

“Baker 436. We could not count them all. There were too many. No traps. The man must have believed he was safe where he was.” 

 

_ We will meet you. Watch your men. Keep them out of the way. We will be there soon as we can. _

 

Thomas leaves with a bow. Back to Baker. He gathers the Whalers there and tells them there will be an increase in the Watch - that Corvo is coming to help. 

 

Now all they must do is wait. Wait for Corvo. Wait for Daud. Holding their breath.

 

Daud takes every second he has. Even if he had well into the morning he would not have time to see every single body personally. He only has a couple of hours as it is. Whalers are fast, the Watch is much less so. A bunch of lumbering morons. Still, he looks at as many as he can. 

 

Daud pulls cloth from sunken faces with bruised lips and throats, with broken noses and scars like his own. They are horrid reminders of what he managed to escape. Gentle faces of blond Tyvian girls. Ash laid hair of Serkonan boys. Stone eyes of Morley children. Smooth jaws of Gristol’s own. Any with open eyes have their eyes closed with careful fingers. 

 

Daud sees old friends in their faces. Memories that make his heart pound, and sink into his gut. He knows the kind of monster that not only allows this to happen but does such horrible acts. He has stood face to face with them. Sunk a blade through their heart, their throat. Through the eye. 

 

His first kill. Hands shaking as the body dropped, knife deep in the man’s chest. Boiling tears running down his face, mixing with blood. Now is not the time. Leave it behind. His breath shudders, and he finishes what Jordon started. Breaking the floorboards to reach the man above. 

 

He hears the wood splinter, only Daud leaves him with no time to react. A bolt flies from Daud’s wrist, lodging perfectly in the man’s thigh. He begins coming towards Daud, a knife in hand, and falls. The knife clatters to the ground and Daud kicks it away. Neither have a use for it. The man lays unconscious on the floor, a hand hanging into the cellar. 

 

He keeps very neat notes. Clean handwriting. If Daud had seen them anywhere else, he would not have trusted the man. Those with clean writing have things to hide. He finds initials he recognizes, and streets he has cleaned. The dates of kills his men have done. They had taken out a few of the men in this ring. For that Daud is glad. He piles the notebooks along with any loose notes or slips with numbers sprawled across them. The stack would come to a third of his height. He finds so much in those papers and books. Names of the children, their families, homeland, worth. His teeth grit and an angry piece of him wants to hope these are old, that he will flip far enough back and find his own name. 

 

He does not need to see his name in a book like this again, but he hopes to if to simply relieve some of his anger. 

 

There is a crash in the next room as the door is kicked in. Corvo stands in the doorway, a group of Watch officers standing behind him. A sense of relief, of not needing to do this alone washes over the room.


	3. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Torture, gore, dismemberment, dead children mentioned
> 
> It's not late, it's still Saturday for me.

Daud has made sure that the man cannot cause a fuss as they take him to Coldridge. His home is cordoned off, and a dead counter is brought in to number the bodies. Even then, he can only make a rough estimate. Daud’s stomach sinks to his feet. Approximately thirty, some too small and rotted to tell if they were... pieces, or toddlers. 

 

Daud has rarely felt such a need to take a man’s head from his shoulders, but he certainly does right at this moment. Corvo is able to wrangle him into doing the paperwork together. The pair links names with places, and initials with groups and names. Names of the victims are handed to the assassins, the Whalers set about linking what bodies they can to names and descriptions and writing letters to family. Corvo and Daud are buried in paperwork by the time they find their prisoner’s name, proof he is connected to it all. Daud can have his reason to make the man’s head roll, only first, even with proof, they need the confession. Any extra information they can gain from the man will work in their favour.

 

Daud is given the right to interrogate the man. A furious assassin is something to fear more than the Void and the Outsider. Especially when that assassin is the Knife of Dunwall, a man that studied in the Academy of Natural Philosophy, and has exceptional skill with a blade, one who is said by many to be driven by pain and blood. 

 

The interrogation room is a disgusting mess when Daud is done. The man has admitted to everything, cleared up inconsistencies, and begged for mercy, something that Daud never gave. One of the man’s rib bone settled on the metal plate proves the lack of mercy. Only two holes are in the man, one at his spine and another where his ribs connect. Corvo cannot so much as make a guess as to what or how Daud had done it. Blood pools on the floor from a broken nose and bleeding cuts. The man is dragged back to his cell crying. Daud meticulously wipes clean his instruments. 

 

Daud and Corvo listen to the recording, sorting and matching names. Many connections are made, all written and marked on boards. There are names Corvo knows all too well, names of council members. He and Emily meet with them weekly… 

 

He clings to her shoulder in court, not once releasing her. She can feel his stress, his anger, and it makes her short with her council. Emily snaps and shuts them down if Corvo’s hand tightens on her shoulder. She knows something is happening but has yet to ask what. It seems very bloody, and frankly, it scares her, yet she trusts Corvo to handle it. Corvo is more trustworthy than anyone else she has met, as her father and protector. Her mother trusted him with more than their lives, and Emily believes she can do the same. 

 

Those council members whose names were found in the papers are no longer permitted to speak to their Empress outside of court. Perhaps they are picking up on what is happening, that Corvo has caught on to their scent. They stay quiet and hide behind each other like scared children. 

 

Emily is taken to her classes, and Corvo returns to Daud; finding him looking grim, even though he looks at home so deep in piles of paper. He has found something, he is digging through papers Corvo had not authorized him to touch. Papers with Hiram’s signature look as if they could be every paper the man ever so much as touched maybe only looked at. Did someone have to touch something for it to criminalize them? Corvo feels as if he will have to ask that question very soon.

 

He does not speak and pushes a paper towards Corvo. An officially royal signed document, allowing a shipment of goats, kids, into Dunwall. There is no proof of goats, there have been no goats through Dunwall for years, and the weight is wrong, size more fitting for children. Then Corvo notices the significance of the paper, who had signed it - Hiram Burrows. Daud pushes more papers toward him. Notes, similar to those that were sent to Daud requesting shipments of these goats, all royally signed, a handful had been written before he was Lord Regent. 

 

He was not an innocent member of this trafficking ring, signing papers he did not realize the true nature of. The more Daud hands over to Corvo, the more obvious it is that Hiram knew exactly what he was signing. The man knew exactly what he was doing.

 

Corvo knows what these papers mean, and is just as furious as Daud had been. It is his turn to play interrogator. 

 

Hiram is dragged across the cold flooring of Coldridge by the back of his collar. Corvo’s boots echo louder than any yelling, not that there is any. Every prisoner is silent. They duck to the backs of their cells, cowering in fear that they may be next. Hiram can feel what is coming to him, his execution edging closer, weeks at a time. 

 

Corvo is not nearly as clean or precise as Daud. He is a man of harsh moves, not smooth flickerings that cause more pain than a brand. Corvo burns Hiram’s skin and tears at his teeth until he is screaming his guilt to the dust-filled air. 

 

He is spilling confessions admits to the trafficking rings, that he was allowing them, that he was taking some of their coin as payment to allow them to function. Hiram cries that if all went his way, even if Emily was following her given orders, she would have been sold off to them. That when they were done with her he would bring her body from the plague pits, claim they found her there, that Corvo had dropped her there. The plague pits for children is another matter, so many of the poor young souls did not have the plague when tossed in. They were wrapped and thrown in the piles once they served their use, or if their parents refused to sell them off. 

 

The offending man’s luck is still going. There is a guard standing by the autophone, Corvo cannot simply claim the man died in interrogation, he has a witness. Hiram, much to everyone’s dismay, lives to see another day. 

 

Hiram shakes in his cell waiting for his execution. Positive that he will share the fate with the others found guilty of trafficking. His head will roll by the assassin’s hand, an old partner of his. 

 

The ring is shut down in a week. A visit from a Whaler, with a knife and a paper expressing their guilt. That is all it takes to fill Coldridge. Many are executed shortly after arrival, they have less need to feel fear than Hiram and the high class. Every one of them spilled their confessions like the guts of a whale. 

 

They clean Dunwall of any found relating to the ring. Living cargo slows, and Corvo passes a law that all cargo must be checked. Many ships protest, Corvo demands them to be searched. His men may not find what they are looking for in every ship, but it makes sure the point reaches the places it needs to. 

 

This law is the first Emily hears of what is actually happening. The first she hears that people would do such things to children as buy and sell them. The first she hears her father is working with the man who murdered her mother. 

 

She may have shared tender moments with Daud while they waited for her carriage, but he was still a murderer. It did not matter that the leather of his coat and gloves were as soft as any cotton. 


	4. Little Empress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emily is curious and knows more about what hides in the dark than she should.
> 
> Mention of death, mention of harm of children, mention of child death

Emily is, as expected, upset and feels betrayed to some degree. She demands answers and Corvo offers her none. She is too young to know. It is for her protection. She has gone through so much already and does not need to go through more. He stands strong in his choice through her anger. No one dares to tell her after he has said no to her questions. 

 

People fear him both in his role as Lord Protector and as her father. There may be a day when the fear of his mask and sword hand fades, but that day has not yet arrived. One day she will have unguarded access to all information, until then it is filtered through him. Which many people are grateful for, she is young, while he has stood by the late Empress’ side for a number of years. They trust his choices, even if they may be sudden and strict. 

 

Emily attempts to pursue the answers to her questions through Daud, as she peeks over the piles of papers laying atop the desk that may as well be his. He denies her much less information than Corvo would like him to, but Corvo is not there to protest. 

 

“This matter is nothing anyone of your age should have to accustom themself to. Please Lady Emily, run along and play. You have seen enough in your time already, let us spare your innocence a day longer.” Daud is wrapped up in papers, fingertips dipped with ink. 

 

“So you’ll tell me tomorrow?” 

 

“No.”

 

“You said tomorrow.” There is a pout to her voice as she rocks back and forth on her heels. She is trying to see if she can read the papers upside down. “It’s about the children, isn’t it? Are they getting hurt?”

 

Daud does not answer, but Emily repeats her question until he does. Are they hurting? Do they get hurt? Would they hurt me? Are the children safe?

 

“Empress Emily please, I am working… they are not safe. Your Lord Protector and I are working to ensure their safety.”

 

“What happens if we don’t? How do they get hurt? I heard one lost an eye.” Emily tries to pull papers closer to herself and Daud puts a hand over them. 

 

“Yes, one lost an eye. More may if we do not stop this.”

 

“So they steal children’s eyes?”

 

“No.”

 

“That’s what you said.” Silence. “I won’t tell Corvo you told me.” 

 

“I don’t fear Corvo.” Daud sounds tired. Emily is sure she has him cracked. 

 

“Then tell me.” Only, he goes quiet again. The silence goes on longer than before. Emily is getting fed up, and ready to turn and walk away. 

 

“If we do not stop what is happening, Lady Emily- Empress Emily, children will die. The things these children go through is unspeakable, not anything anyone should hear, let alone a young Empress. With stakes as high as death I am sure you understand why we must work so swiftly.” 

 

It is not what she thought the answer would be. She stares wide-eyed for a moment too long and Daud fears he has said more than her heart can take. He starts to stand so he can lead her from the room. 

 

“How do you know, Royal Spymaster?” She attempts to hide the fear and pain in her throat. 

 

“Because I am one of the few that survived. Now, please, let me take you to your room, Emily.” His hand rests gently on her shoulder and she walks with him down the hall. 

 

“How did you do it? Was it messy?”


	5. Dead Eels

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: sinking ships  
> This one's a little short.
> 
> Corvo knows Daud is connected deep into the underworld, but he doesn't know just how deeply.

Corvo writes new laws, no ship can leave port without a search, no cargo can be unloaded until checked. They catch a number of ships smuggling, but then ships begin to sink. He has no explanation for this. Corvo mentions these sinking ships to Daud and he comments that the Watch does not search well enough. That the ships are sinking for a reason, he should be more worried about the sudden surge of children in the orphanages. With such a simple comment, he knows it is connected to Daud and the Whalers.

 

He is sure it must be due to the slack he has allowed Daud and his Whalers to have. Letting them run central parts of the Watch and even allowing Daud access to documents Corvo would not allow him to so much as touch under different circumstances. He trusts this slack is used for the better and to aid the capture of these smugglers, and not personal means. Daud seems so buried in the work, Corvo doubts he thinks of personal needs. Corvo wonders if he ever had as he watches Thomas fetch him food and drink.

 

The sinking of ships is still irking to Corvo, he has no explanation, and it is causing a fuss. Corvo either has to stop it or expose the purpose of it. He confronts Daud a week after the sinkings start. Daud takes him down Drapers Ward, down back streets and through a break in a wall. A shady place. Certainly, a good place for a gang to gather. Corvo is right. This corner of Drapers is home to the Dead Eels and their smuggling ship, the Undine.

 

Their leader, referred by many as a hagfish of a woman, Lizzie Stride, welcomes Corvo like an old friend, harsh and a touch bitter. Daud is welcomed similarly. Daud explains and a sharp-toothed smile spreads over her face. Corvo sees now why people call her a hagfish.

 

She is an older connection of Daud’s and owes him a serious favour. One he claims is already repaid, neither will elaborate. Undine is her old ship, and she is sluggish at her fastest pace, she weighs a ton at her lightest Corvo is sure. Chips from the ship’s front are all Corvo needs to see to know that it is capable of tearing through a hull, making gashes in wooden ships. Lizzie regards her gang as a small section of the Whalers, whether Daud does or not Corvo is unsure.

 

Corvo learns that day, and the following week, Daud has connections that line up like the scratches in his coat. He has the Eels running down ships, the Whalers clearing houses and shops, and remaining Hatters cracking down on conversations in pubs. Even Bottle Street is under his thumb. His connections run further than Dunwall, from one side of the Empire to the other. Daud is, by all means, the perfect man to fill the position of Spymaster.

 

Outsider knows he has the mind and means for it.

 

Within the months he has come to understand Daud’s nicknames. More than just The Knife of Dunwall, that one is self-explanatory. But Lupus, Wolf, the Outsider’s son, Son of The Witch. He hears Daud referred to as Lupus the most, the others are soft whisperings or teasing names from Whalers. He had once thought Daud had only killed his marks. Now he knows he tracks them down, circles them, separates them, and takes out their jugular. His hunts may go on for weeks, but he gets the kill. The wolf gets fed.

 

He learns his own nickname at the same time. Raven. He is at first offended until he thinks on it.

 

Corvo is a raven. He follows wolves and foxes to their kills, and in return leads them to scraps when they are hungry.

 

Daud hands Lizzie ship names, and she takes them down. She is a hagfish to a bleeding corpse.

 

Ships sink, children appear on the shore, and the Undine steams home.

 

Corvo now has a purpose for the ship sinking, he is able to calm the courts.


	6. Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this is a day late.
> 
> Mention of abuse and injury

Daud is, always has been, a man with an extreme aversion to politics. He may have worked with the old Spymaster, but that is the closest he has ever been to court. Perhaps this is the reason why he can comb his fingers through the underbelly of Dunwall and find what he needs, why he trusts the gangs and smugglers more than any judge. Though, the reason may be how corrupt he has seen the system to be as well. 

 

Corvo tries not to boil over in court. The council drags Daud and his method through the sea of muck and only guts he has left for himself, Corvo cannot blame them. Yet at this moment he is a great ally. They argue with Corvo that they must have a lawyer or someone qualified to work as the Spymaster. Not a half-blooded son of some Serkonan pirate. They are warned to watch their mouths, and the arguments continue, until Corvo swears at them. 

 

Rapid movements of his hands express his emotions on the subject and cause everyone to fall silent. He apologizes for the outburst and continues. He explains Daud’s methods and how he sees the world. Then tells the court he will see what convincing he can do to bring Daud to use more legal methods. 

 

_ The law does not agree with a man that has fought it all his life. _

 

Daud agrees. Conditionally, as Corvo expected. Whalers must be equal with the Watch, and they will only follow his orders. Those he chooses to be leaders will be leaders, and Thomas will represent them all as Captain. They work under the same conditions of the Watch, rations, uniforms, a bed to sleep in. There is not much more to do than to agree. If Corvo does not, the Empire will lose the most powerful Spymaster it has ever had the chance of having. 

 

With that matter settled, more questions arise. What is happening with the children? Where are they taken? Are they sent on a ship back to their homes without guidance? 

 

Daud has answers. Daud always has answers, he is always ready to be questioned.

 

Whalers take the children home. They travel by ship, carriage, train. Any possible way the child can be taken home they are. Those that do not have homes are given places in the Watch, in the Abbey if that is what they wish, set up in apprenticeships. They are taken care of as best as they can be. Then, those that do not survive, are buried in the Dunwall cemetery, with letters sent home to their parents. The letters provide all that is needed to visit for a final goodbye.

 

Any way closure can be given, the Whalers take care of it. Bodies, crying, screaming, and more are all part of their daily lives. And frankly - Daud does not trust Watchmen as far as he can throw them when it comes to young children. He has been on the street long enough to know. Been hired to slit enough of their throats to lack trust in the men of the Watch. 

 

For a bringer of death, an assassin with a legendary steady hand, he is wound around the finger of every young child he meets. A bulky, deadly man with a soft heart and careful hands for hurt children that need a hug and someone to tell them they will make it, that they do not need to fight alone. 

 

Emily may not warm to him as quickly as the others do, but she has a reason not to. Though she does warm up to him, in time. Emily stands beside Daud as he writes and copies, referencing through papers and barking orders to Whalers and sailors. Maybe one day she will trust him. She will never forget what he has done, but understand he did had not looked further than his payment, and teach him the backlash of his short sight. 

 

No one else seems to compare to Daud; from how strong his hugs are, to the stories he tells. Empowering stories of kids like them. Children with bleeding knees and teary eyes, that have deadly kicks. Snarling children that fight to live and win. Abused women that overcome their abuse and captain powerful sea vessels. They are stories full of survival and recovery. There are lights that ignite in their eyes when he tells them these stories as he holds a hand out to help them climb, or shows them to tie knots with skilled hands. A few ask to learn to play his violin, and he lets them. They sing together, all cracking voices and laughter. 

 

He is no assassin when he is sitting on the ground with a group of ten or more children, death on two legs and a red hand, with a child held in each arm. If the situation was lacking its circumstance, Corvo may joke of making Daud a nanny instead of Spymaster. As it is, tender moments are treated with care and appreciation.


	7. Preperations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late again sorry!!

Dunwall was once an easy place to get away with many things. One of which was pedophilia, another human trafficking. Now people will not so much as breathe a whisper about either in fear of the Whalers or worse, in fear of The Lord Protector’s blade. The city fills with rumours that Corvo is executing people in the streets for their crimes. This is, simply, a rumour. It is not Corvo, it is the Whalers. With commands from Daud, Whalers fall like razor rain, cleaning through groups of those that are against the progress being made. 

 

In fear, nobles pass their work and estates down to younger family members. This fills the courts with people that see a reason for the new law, that see a young girl sitting on the throne and see what she will be, not what she will not be. They hand papers over for inspection and give information on the illegal business their elders had been doing. They are thanked, and the ones that had committed the crimes are charged. 

 

For if the guilty step up alone, they may not be spared Coldridge but, are spared the execution sentence. Those that turn them in are rewarded, unless found lying. 

 

Stories fill shops, stories of saved wives, sisters, daughters, and of rough-handed assassins with feminine voices and long hair. It spurs more than bravery in many women, but hope and a realization that they may no longer be trapped in positions in sewing factories or as housewives. 

 

More than that, houses empty to be filled by those that need them. Jobs opportunities rise once the law that a woman may not work in the Watch, Navy, or Military is thrown into the Void. 

 

These changes are happening at an exceedingly fast pace. Too fast if you ask many if you ask Daud. The papers go through him. There is rising money in Dunwall and the poverty growing across the Isles. Yet Daud keeps his mouth closed if only to save the smile on Emily’s face when she watches the women train in the yard. 

 

It seems the shockwaves spread waves across the Isles, and not good ones. Crime against women rises and money grows in the nobles’ banks. It does not take Daud much digging to find where the money is from, or where it is going. It is taken from the poor and low class, handed into community development. Or as Daud calls it, legal woman abuse, brothels and bathhouses. 

 

Once Dunwall has settled, Daud brings the papers to Corvo’s attention. They go over them. His footnotes and notebooks full of extra information drive the point home, and Corvo almost grows angry with why these were not brought to his attention sooner. Only for Daud to explain that he knows and understands more about how the cities and Isles work than Corvo ever imagined he does. 

 

“We are moving this far too quickly, Lord Protector.” 

 

This is the first time the council has seen Daud among them. He stands where the Spymaster once stood, with papers and pens, taking up his new position. 

 

“The laws that have passed must stay in place. However, I must advise you, and our Empress against making any more for the time being. Further changes will severely disrupt the Isles.”

 

The council does not trust him. Not many do, and none blame them, Daud has a reputation. One that does not include being a stand-up citizen.

 

_ What do you recommend _ , _ Spymaster? _

 

At that moment the title becomes official. A slip of his hand and Corvo has put Daud in a position of power. 

 

“That is determined by whether or not you believe the Empress is ready to travel the Isles. It may be of great importance that she is present on this trip. She is the Empress, people will surely want to see how capable she is.”

 

“You said yourself, Spymaster. She is young,” a councilwoman objects. There is no fear on her face. She has stood before Daud before. That fact can be seen in her eyes. “Would it be wise to expose her so young to the horrors of the other Isles?”

 

“This is why I ask our Royal Protector, Miss. Timpsh.” 

 

Emily sits quietly in her seat as she has seen her mother do when the council had discussed her, though she is unable to keep herself as quiet as her mother could. “I believe I am ready. I wish to see the Isles.”

 

There is nothing they can do to argue against her. She is the Empress. Her word is final. Within the week word is sent to tailors for her outfits to be created, many for each part of the Isles. Then word is sent by ship to the Isles, ports, and capitals, each carried by a selected Whaler, sent home for a short visit. 

 

With these words sent, Corvo spends his time in Daud’s office. They flip through history and record books to find ways that will best fix the mistakes their hasty decisions have left them with. Emily sits nearby with a book, doodling and writing whatever she pleases in it. So long as she is present they work. She puts her word in when asked, even if they direct her on a path. She is young, ignorant of the way the world works, but they give her leeway, to see how she interprets their problems. 

 

There are a few problems with the plan they have outlined. It will need Corvo, Daud, and Emily to leave the Tower, and for an Empire’s trust to be put into an assassin. Iit will mean leaving Dunwall to be run by inexperienced council members and ex-mercenaries. The second, this will be the first time anyone will see Emily away from the Tower without her hidden behind the legs of her mother. She will be standing in front of Corvo dressed in the finest clothing. As the newest and the youngest Empress in centuries, she is a sadly perfect target. Third, Emily is not fluent in the languages of the Isles, she knows very little of them. They will need to bring a tutor with them. Fourth. Daud, the man standing in front of Corvo with a cigar between his lips. The yet to be made official, official Spymaster. He has a bounty, he is an assassin, he is not trusted by anyone in the Empire. Bringing an ex-criminal, the murderer of the late Empress across the Isiels is questionable at best. Corvo could write a book on why Daud is a problem. He could also write a book on why Daud is perfect for the position and why if anyone is to go, Daud should. 

 

Corvo has spoken with Emily on the matter, and she very much wishes for Daud to be her Spymaster. He will bring fear to courts, and the underbelly is already under his control. No one is more perfect. Except for the fact that, he has no political training. Corvo disagrees that he will need it but many court members believe he will. They simply do not know Daud’s strengths as Corvo does. What is Corvo to do? Turn away a perfect match and allow the strongest assassin in Dunwall’s history walk free? 

 

With Daud’s reputation being the least appealing part about him, Corvo could care less about the Council’s distrust. Within a couple weeks Daud is officially labelled the Royal Spymaster. 

 

He refuses to wear the outfit, and the Whalers refuse the Watch uniforms. That is only an issue with the Watch. Corvo allows it while Whalers discuss their Royal Uniforms amongst each other.

 

Word comes from the other Isles nearly as soon as Emily is having final fittings. Approval across the board. Not that, as the Empress, Emily’s request to visit could be denied. The ship is readied and outfits are completed. One would think Emily would be hardest to keep still during fittings. In reality, it is Daud. Paranoia and an itch to keep moving work together to have him constantly fidgeting. 

 

They manage to finish his uniform by the time the ships are ready for departure. Now the problem lies in his right hand. Thomas, the Whaler who has been Daud’s second in command since the days after the loss of the old Empress, he refuses to step foot onto a ship. He fears the water, fears the rocking of the ship, the sound of water crashing against the rocks or the side of a ship. 

 

No amount of urging will change his mind. 

 

“I will stay and keep the others in line sir. Enjoy your voyage.” Thomas helps Daud into his coat and hands over his weaponry, as he does every morning. “I am sure the waters will be calm.”

 

“Yet you still refuse to come.”

 

“You know my reasons, sir.” He watches Daud straighten his uniform. 

 

“My mornings will not be the same without you.” He looks at Thomas over his shoulder in the mirror. The other has been growing his hair since they were brought into the Tower. It is pulled back in a ponytail, and his striking blue eyes lock with Daud’s eyes of steel. “Nor my nights.”

 

Thomas’ face matches his hair for a moment. “Nor my own, but even you cannot coax me on to the water.”

 

They are facing each other now, Thomas fidgeting with the collar of Daud’s coat, at least until his hands are taken in Daud’s. They simply stand for a moment, hands in each others’ before Daud reaches for Thomas’ collar and pulls. 

 

Their lips meet for a tender moment. 

 

A knock at the door interrupts their quiet moment. They fuss with collars as Daud calls to allow the maid in. 


	8. The Isles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's onnnn time today!  
> You're on chapter 8 of 13, things are kicking off!

Thomas is left in charge of the Spymaster’s duties and keeping the Whalers in line. In his place Daud brings a quiet man, with a scar that covers the entirety of the left side of his face. Daud only refers to him as The Boatman. He keeps to himself far more than Corvo is comfortable with, but Corvo trusts Daud’s word. Anyone chosen to stand by his side is worthy of the same trust Corvo has for Daud.

 

Corvo thought Daud may hide below deck with books and keep to himself. He sees how wrong he is within the first week. In the early morning as the sun comes over the sea and during the twilight hours when the sky turns purple and meets the ocean, Daud holds a violin. Corvo recognizes many of these tunes from his childhood, from sailors and a boy that sat on the docks. A boy with a violin very similar to Daud’s own.

 

Emily sits by Daud’s side in the evening with a warm drink and joins him in merry songs. Most of them sung in Serkonan, but it allows her to pick up more of the language. Her bouncy young voice accompanies his old rusty tone wonderfully.

 

Sometimes, she stops to giggle. The sea is moving with the music. Gulls will perch on the railings and chime along. It amuses Emily to no end. Corvo does not mention why he believes it is happening. Not until Emily asks Daud if they are the songs witches sing. When Corvo is busy Daud tells Emily where he was taught them, with an exaggerated tale of a Pandyssian Pirate Queen. Another tall tale Corvo remembers.

 

Emily spends her next few days running across the deck with a wooden sword. Daud joins her by midday. Then in time, and with much encouragement and prodding, Corvo joins as well. Outsider knows what the sailors think of the three hopping around the deck with sticks. They have enough mind to not say a word about it to either of the men and to say Emily is a right Pirate Queen when she asks. Both Corvo and Daud agree it is best to learn to fight while she is young. They will not be around forever to defend her. She may have to do it herself someday. 

 

Corvo chooses not to think about those days. 

 

During breaks in these play fights Corvo and Daud go over the basics of the Isles languages with Emily to be sure she has them. Daud’s stories turn to language lessons, full of words Corvo does not want her knowing, let alone saying. This time without Corvo gives them an opportunity to bond. Emily learns things she would otherwise never learn if not for Daud’s willingness to teach, other things she would just not learn for some time longer. Daud will answer next to any question asked of him. They are both aware that he will never be forgiven for what he has done, but this growing bond helps them both recover. Emily tells him about how worried the Pendletons were to cause her any harm. They feared Daud at all times, while they only feared Corvo in the night.

 

As much as Daud may wish it, there is no quick way around the Isles. Royal guards and soldiers breath down the Spymaster's collar through the ports of Gristol.There are many times that the nights singing old songs with Emily calm his agitations. The warmth of Serkonos and the familiar smells of home keep Daud relaxed and more willing to work. His relaxation continues up through more ports of Gristol, Corvo puts it up to the sweets they obtained while there.

 

Emily and Corvo attend parties thrown in Emily’s name. He stays so close behind her she can feel his breath on her neck. She knows she is safe with him there. Daud meanwhile digs through books, records of nobles and shipments. No paper can be denied to to him, to the Spymaster. They learn what they can in the time they are at each port. Daud takes the most notable documents and has a notebook filled by the end of each visit. The Boatman handles the dirty work. Blood spills and nobles are dragged to prisons for their crimes by order of the Spymaster. The Boatman takes word between Corvo and Daud so they are kept up with what the other is doing. The ports, the Isle, is left in fear of the new Spymaster and his men. 

 

The acts are repeated in Tyvia. Then Morley. The only change is how much complaining Daud does. The cold of these Isles anger old scars. Parties for Emily and Corvo while Daud buries himself in books and The Boatman dirties his hands and knees. The new laws and Daud’s harsh tactics work. Crime rings are crumbled and demolished, while those committing theft and small crimes are given chances at redemption. Those that refuse redemption are sent to prison; they seal their own fate. 

 

No soldier, nor Overseer has struck fear as Daud has. True fear is in the magic of the Void, not the Winged Serpent or Black-eyed man of dreams, but a broad, stout man with scars and an anger that curdles milk. He is the true fear of the Outsider.

 

A whaling ship chugs along behind The Royal Vessel. Whales breach around the vessels, singing loud songs of love and loss.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a day early because I'll be gone tomorrow, enjoy the early addition!
> 
> allusion to torture/abuse/rape, neglect

Corvo awakes to the jitter of music boxes, and the butt of a gun knocking him out. The next sound is a scream from Emily and the grating sound of steel on steel. Finally, eyes opening again, staring at Daud, watching the man clench his hands. Music drilling through his skull. 

 

He counts two days of grool and the rocking of the ship. Two days of watching Emily hug her knees and try to look strong. Daud’s head rolls from side to side with the ship. 

 

The cell in front of Corvo’s is empty when he wakes up. The cell door in front of him moves with the rocking of the sea, open far enough to click against Emily’s cell. He stands quickly, counting heads: Emily, the captain, five watchmen, three sailors, and Daud. That is not everyone, someone is missing. It takes Corvo a second to realize who, The Boatman. That was the one who resided in the cell across from Corvo. Fear fills his heart, but he is infinitely grateful that Emily is still in the cell kitty-corner from him. Daud seems unconcerned for his missing companion. Though he is losing himself, Corvo can tell. The fight is draining out of him, Corvo has never seen him so noncombatant of existence itself. Even as he sat back against a wall during their fight in the Flooded District, bleeding between his fingers. There was fight burning in his eyes.

 

The music box is just out of Daud’s reach, as it has been since the day they were thrown in here. It sings endlessly, tugging at Corvo’s magic, and draining Daud of everything he has. It starts with dizziness,  Corvo watches the way Daud struggles to focus on anything. Then Daud’s knees go weak, his legs slide along the wooden flooring until they lay flat. Daud is sick, horribly so. Daud wheezes as if his breath wind through a torn sail. He cannot keep down the slop they are fed. Corvo can reach him from his own cell, and when his hand touches Daud’s shoulder he finds the man cold and unresponsive. His chest still moves, however. Alive, if barely. Corvo wonders if the man could stand up to a stiff wind at this point. The music is draining the life from him. If Daud could look at him, Corvo is sure his eyes would be black as the Void. This has to stop or Daud may not live for much longer. 

 

Corvo’s boot connects with the shoddy bars of his cell, causing them to ring out and attract the attention of their captors. Four burly men trot down the stairs, glaring at Corvo. 

 

“The Void’s your problem?” But their attention is pulled away from Corvo before they even notice he is talking to them, hands a blur as he silently shouts. Daud’s weak form slumped against the bars has stolen their attention. “Would ye look at that? The Outsider’s boy does break.” 

 

A blond, greasy man laughs, unlocking Daud’s cell. “He breaks real pretty.” He hauls Daud over his shoulder without issue. “Think the boss’ll wanna play with him some?”

 

“Shouldn’t we first?” The cell is closed. Emily is on her feet, small hands fisted around the bars of her own. “Like boss’ll notice-“ 

 

“Leave my Spymaster alone! In the name of the Empire and the Kaldwin family!” Emily’s voice almost booms. Corvo can hear her mother in it. “I will have you all thrown in prison! I’ll personally cut your heads off!” 

 

None of the men take her seriously, they do not so much as give her a glance. One or two chuckle, but that is the extent of their acknowledgment that she has even spoken. Emily’s face sets into a distasteful sneer, and it is exactly like that of her mother’s. 

 

They laugh among themselves as they walk up the steps with Daud.  “The mighty assassin brought down by plinky-plonky music. Would yah have thought?” 

 

Corvo slams his weight into the bars, and the cage rattles so loudly Corvo thinks for a moment they might give. It gains their attention again. 

 

_ If you so much as harm him you will be cut in half and fed to the hounds. _

 

He receives no more respect than Emily had. 

 

“Why ain’t he talkin?”

 

“Ain’t heard? Someone cut out his tongue.” There is no concern or condolence in their voices. Their words are a mockery. “Poor thing can’t talk a lick.”

 

None of them come near him. They only want Daud, for the moment. There are many, nobles, assassins, slave traders, that will pay for him dead or alive. The coin is better than good. It could buy an estate, or twelve. 

 

They will break him further before selling him off to whoever will pay them the highest bid. They will do so because someone so powerful under your control is intoxicating. Breaking him is something many people want to do. There are many stories of his unbreakable spirit. Everyone wants to be the one to finally do him in after years of murder and being completely untouchable, even Daud cannot find it to blame them for that want.

 

Daud will be a fun one to break.

 

Then, they will break Corvo.


	10. Absent Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm just forgetful when it comes to posting.

The Undeen has her course set. Leaving trails of white waves in her wake, following her around King Sparrow. Lizzie paces awaiting the return of the Royal ship carrying her friends and Empress. Round once, twice, three times. The lighthouse’s light moves over rocks that jut from the waves, catching shadows in the water and the Undeen’s hull. The wind sings and roars songs of lost ships, of shattered hulls and pirates. Days and nights of open ocean turn to weeks. A month.

Lizzie has no authority or control over the Watch. She will still likely be thrown headlong into a cell in Coldridge if she comes near the Tower. Without Daud to stand beside her she has very few ways to reach the main bulk of the city, only a single way to reach Thomas in the Tower. And he is considerably busy searching for missing letters. 

There has to be a missing letter. The ship will be late. They took more time in a port. Anything that was sent should have reached Dunwall by now. Thomas digs, with itching hands, through piles of papers and reports. He must be missing something. 

Nothing. 

Nothing. 

Nothing. 

Not so much as an unidentifiable shipwreck or a whale’s belly split to find a ship. No remains. 

Nothing.

The maids and The Watch hold their breath. The Whalers are choking on their worry. The Empire is ready to fall back into chaos. 

The Undeen has no rest. Leaving white waves in her wake, day after day, until a little skipper ship is found by the lighthouse’s spotlight.

“Creed? Where’s Daud?” The doors of the Spymaster’s office have flung open. Thomas knows who is behind them before they scrape across the floor to a stop. 

“Locked in a cell,” Thomas opens his mouth but nothing comes out. “They tracked us I’m sure. A trafficking ship rammed us, took over the crew, took down our Master with a music box. I managed to break the door. He was too weak to attempt it.” 

“You’ve told Lizzie?” He’s stepping out from behind Daud’s desk. 

“She has the Undeen sitting in port waiting on your command.”

For Thomas’ reservations about stepping foot on a ship, he has his station taken over quickly and a small group of Whalers following him down to the docks. Daud’s life means more than his fear. Lizzie has a map drawn out, a path marked. The ship is somewhere between Drisko and the south-east side of Alba. It’ll be a couple weeks on the sea. They can only hope to make it on time. Creed says that the traffickers are tugging the Royal Ship behind them. The Undeen will be faster than it, if only without the extra weight. They should meet them before they can leave the area. 

While the Eels may not be so appreciative of their new crew members, they know better than to start a fight with a Whaler. As for the Whalers, they are just as appreciative. Only, the Whalers have an exact purpose for being there. The Eels are there to run the ship. The Whalers are there to find their father. 

Daud is the man that brought them from death, the slums, a guardian of street children and the wounded. He is a fair boss and a well-treating master. He has done none of them wrong. He has fought for them. He could have left them to the slums when he was given his title, but he brought them with him. He made sure that they were given jobs and food. There is no other gang leader in Dunwall that would do such a thing. The Whalers are thankful for the Crown allowing them their jobs, but they are loyal to their father. They are loyal to Daud and will put his life above their own. 

They are the chosen family of an assassin. They act like it. 

Thomas keeps himself to the lower quarters, he gets less sick down there. He can fake he is not on a ship, not miles and miles from land. He clasps his hands, keeps his eyes to the metal floor and talks himself through it all. His plan is verbal. He bounces it off the walls, off Creed. When not talking he has a stick of ginger between his teeth, calming his poor stomach. No one brings up or teases him on the dizzy stomach. He is not only facing a fear. He is on the verge of losing someone that means the world to him. 

While he hides away for his well-being the Whalers try to keep upbeat. They fill the air with songs Daud has taught them, boasting, terribly crude songs. It keeps them light and allows the lights to shine in their eyes. Each of their hands itch, but the Undeen keeps turning water. So long as she moves they have hope.


	11. Blood On Wood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Accept these late!!!!!
> 
> TW: Torture

Before any of them had set foot on the ship Corvo had never seen the boatman before. He doubts many but Daud had. Yet the man was stolen away from his cell even before Daud. Corvo finds it hard to believe he was worth anything to their captors. They likely threw him overboard. 

Daud is missing now for longer than Corvo has been able to count the days. They are bleeding into one.The nights last so long and days last less than half the time. Emily has not asked when they will be home. She has not questioned where Daud was taken. She knows more than she will let on, Corvo can see it in her eyes. When she looks at him she can see Corvo’s mind working overtime. The knees of her tights are torn, she has been picking at them. 

Corvo refuses to think about how much his little girl is worth to traffickers. The young Empress of the Isles, only twelve. The traffickers are clearly scared to touch her. Even with Corvo in his own cell, they seem to understand there is little stopping him from getting at them. Corvo is deadly, in and out of court. The blood father of the Empress and her Royal Protector, the Isles stay quiet about the combination, but everyone is aware to one degree or another. 

As much as he refuses to think on the price someone might pay for Emily, he wonders his own price. He wonders Daud’s. There is a bounty worth as much as the gold hoarded away in Emily’s safe room. Maybe more. Each scar and mark on Daud’s skin likely raises his price. There cannot be many who could afford him. Royals. Dukes. Other rulers are the only people Corvo can think of. 

“Are we going to live, Corvo?” Emily’s voice breaks him from his thoughts. Curled in the corner of her cell, knees to her chest, she looks her age. 

Your life will be protected with my own. I will do all in my power to keep you safe.

It is as good an answer as she knows she is going to get. Corvo sighs, looking at Daud’s empty cell. He must still be on board. They have not stopped their voyage. He is worth too much to throw overboard. Corvo’s eyes come to Emily, and then to the wooden floorboards. He watches a rat skitter across the boards. 

Chained somewhere above is Daud. His arms ache and his back creaks in protest of his position. Despite it, his power is growing. The Void pulls at him, tugging him towards his men. They are nearing the ship. He can feel it. His loyal hounds. The captures watch his hand twitch, see the mark flare randomly, and break his wrist. 

It is the first sound he has made, a scream that tears at his throat and leaves him gasping. Each twitch of his fingers raises his level of pain. They find it funny that he is still feeling pain, that he still gasps for breath each time he regains his consciousness. Each time he returns from the Void reaching out to him. 

“Did you ever think you would end up here? Chained in yet another ship? A broken wrist and men leering around you: Does it make you miss your past when you were young and knew no freedom? When they were just cruel men? When you were not like them? When the blood staining your hands was in your defence? 

Poor Daud. You find yourself in the most terrible of situations.”

When he is pulled from his sleep it is by the strongest tug on his magic. Repetitive. His wrist is shrieking, but when his door flies open he knows what he must do. Through the pain, he flicks his wrist. A flash of smoke and the man that has broken through the door is run through. 

The spyglass in Thomas’ hand settles on the pair of ships. They slug through the sea like harpooned whales. “If we’re able to see them, they can see us.. does this move faster, Stride?” 

“She’s at full tilt, Thomas. Can’t make her move quicker.” Lizzie is leaning on the railing beside him, ash from her cigar hitting the deck. 

“Undeen runs with a water wheel right?”

“Yeah, what’s going on in that head ’a yours?”

“If we pulled the wheel would it push her forward at an increased speed?”

“Sounds like somethin’ that would work.” Lizzie knows of their magic. Daud showed the magic to her long ago.

Thomas lowers the spyglass and hands it to Lizzie. “Ardan, Devon, Fergus, Jordan! Make that wheel turn! We’re closing in, the rest of you! Get ready for a fight!” 

The group of four Whalers are in fact able to pull the wheel. They are soaked, but the Undeen pulls through the water like a shark. The strength in each pull grows until one is able to pull as hard as all four could. The ship trembles and creaks, unused to the speed being put on her. 

Thomas’ stomach twists and turns from his new perch. High up in the rigging with a group of Whalers. They are all prepared for this coming fight. They were trained for fights like this, fights that will bring them home in blood and stench. As they close in, bullets begin to fire. And Thomas disappears. 

He has less than a second of confusion before his blade runs through a man in front of him. He can feel Daud behind him, risking a glance he sees the horrible state of his master. The grip on his blade tightens as they share a look. With the man on the floor, Thomas bows deeply. 

“Daud.”

“Thomas.”

Thomas looks back to the open door. They both have a silent agreement now. Defending Daud is Thomas’ job, to protect his master, the other Whalers can handle everyone else. Thomas and Daud can hear the fight beginning, and they both breathe slowly hoping the Empress is taken to safety with nothing more than a scratch.


	12. Whaling Blades

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Almost done guys.

Corvo has little choice but to act when the shouting starts. A slackened hand brings him into the body of the wandering rat. With no weapons and a time limit ticking down, he glances once at Emily and is bounding up the stairs. He will be back in only moments. He just needs something to protect her with. Small paws scitter across the wooden floorboards. The rat’s body is able to squeeze under the door to his room. With any hope, they have left his weapons there. 

He finds that they have just as his time runs out. His form breaks and without a single drop of dizziness, adrenaline keeping him steady, he is reaching for his weapons. Corvo’s blade rolls across the back of his hand. The rat dies under his feet. He loads his crossbow and takes a deep breath. 

He can hear footsteps speeding down the hall, coming closer to the room. A solid kick to the door’s lock breaks the shoddy wood surrounding the lock. It collides with a trafficker and an equally quick hand at Corvo’s side has the man bleeding out. Corvo rushes for the open air to see who is attacking. Only a quick look.

Whalers leap and blink across the deck. A group of possibly fifteen. It is a stunning sight to behold, Corvo is no longer worried about needing to fight to keep Emily alive. Bullets fly and collide with wood. The Whalers fight like nothing Corvo has ever seen. They fight with beyond perfection. Daud has trained them into creativity. 

An average fight bores the Whalers. They live for hard fights, and they train amongst each other for difficulty. 

They fight with crossbow bolts, swords, hands. Those fighting with only their hands are snapping bones of men twice their size. Those with blades are cleaving men in half and using their heads as projectiles. It is beautifully gory and full of righteous anger. Corvo believes he would mess up their brilliant synchronization if he jumps in. The Eels do not share this thought. Eels climb aboard with guns between their teeth and fire in their eyes. They fight alongside Whalers as if they trained there. Whalers duck behind the larger men and women to catch their breath in a pinch. 

Corvo turns back to the steps, back to Emily. The Boatman joins him in only a moment. He is shocked, but suddenly understands Daud’s lack of concern about the disappearance of the Boatman. 

“Lizzie’s got a room for the Lady, you just gotta get her there.” As soon as he was there, he is gone.

Corvo’s boots meet the boards of the cell room and he sees how excited Emily is. She has always wanted to see a sea battle. Much to Corvo’s dismay. 

Corvo begins to let out the crew, and the Boatman is back, a sword in one hand. He offers to take Emily to safety. Corvo agrees. He has little trust for the man but without much choice Emily ducks under Corvo's coat to him. He takes her hand and leads her quickly away from the battle while Corvo goes to join the fray.

Lizzie had disappeared quickly from the fight. Though no one worries about her. She has survived very well in a city that steals your life away. She is in the search for Daud. If he had been well he would have been in the fight. It may have ended already if he had been in it. But she remembers Thomas talking about the music boxes, and how he had been able to feel it through the mark. She knows Daud is not okay, that he is not well or safe. She only hopes Thomas disappeared to his side. 

She nearly walks straight into Thomas’ blade as she turns a corner. The blade pierced her shirt before Thomas realized it was her. She is unfazed as he retracts the blade and steps aside. She is safe, she is allowed in. She takes in the sight of Daud, and tears the sleeve pierced by Thomas off. She is no doctor, but she understands that a wound should be wrapped. Lizzie has it wrapped around Daud’s wrist and watches his teeth sink into his lip and draw blood as she tries to force it back into place. He looks like he is going to kill her if she tries again, so she stops, and undoes his cuffs with a key she had stolen off its ring. 

“Watch our back right, Thomas?”

“Aye.” Thomas helps Lizzie get Daud’s arm over her shoulder and him standing. Like this, you can obviously tell the taller of Daud and Lizzie, and Daud is certainly not the taller. 

“Yer a good lad, Thomas. He’s a lucky old man to have you.” Lizzie comments and Daud scoffs, as he gets his feet under himself. “Oh shush, we’ll get ye to the Undeen, Rhody’s there waitin’.”

Thomas stays two steps behind the pair, his blade ready and his power pulsing. But they are slow. Daud is weak, exhausted, weaponless, lacking so much as a crossbow bolt. It is disturbingly rare to see him so unprepared. Still, Thomas could not say he was no longer deadly. If Daud could so much as put a hand on an attacker, he could kill them. 

But he cannot get a foot under him. He looks his age, Thomas is sad to say. A lifetime of scars and death meet up with a man when he has his very life pulled from his body. Thomas feels for his master, he has never seen Daud in so much pain. It is unprofessional for him to wish he could simply take Daud in his arms and hold him. Yet, it is completely reasonable for the relationship they share.

Thomas is pulled from the thoughts of holding his master by Lizzie hissing. The grip on his blade tightens and in a flash he stands in front of them.


	13. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the final chapter! Would really like you guys to tell me what you've all thought of this. The lack of kudos, bookmarks, and comments really got me down. 
> 
> I hope you guys like it either way, and I hope to soon bring you guys Old Bone Songs, and another finished piece of writing!

Emily cannot see everything from the room she is placed in. She can see the flashes of guns and Whalers blinking around. Occasionally she will catch a glimpse of the Whalers or the Eels, but never anything more through the porthole. She has to stand on a crate to look out. However, she can hear it all. From the clattering of metal and gunshots to the shouting of orders and swears. Thrilled by the battle she can barely contain herself from bursting out the guarded door to get a closer look. 

Everything falls silent, even the wind and sea. No gulls, no shouting, no boots. She waits, eager at the door for Corvo to open it and hug her. The silence goes on. Emily pushes the door open just a crack and she finds the Eels guarding her still. They shoo her back inside, but still, everything is quiet. No one is on any of the ships. 

The remaining traffickers have been cornered into a single room. A pair of Whalers is all it takes to keep the door shut. A crate of Whale Oil held fast in front of it by their pulls, the jerking of the door does nothing to move the Whalers. Despite this, the Eels are raring to tear into the traffickers, and leave none of them alive. Corvo agrees, they should not be left alive. Though he disagrees that they should be allowed a fair fight. The pair of Whalers insures the crate stays in place while the remaining Whalers and the Eels break everything they can find. 

The navigation system is dropped into the ocean. Fuel is taken aboard the Undeen. The sails are gathered in a heap in the middle of both ships’ decks. They are ready to light them. An eager Eel holds a lantern, ready to pour the flaming oil onto the canvas. A Whaler grabs his hand, taking the lantern away quickly. 

“Daud’s not on the Undeen. Anyone see Thomas? Lizzie? We aren’t liting this until they are located. Dead or alive,” Galia’s voice shakes, but everyone listens. They came here for Daud, and they are not leaving without him or Lizzie. 

The ship is searched from top to bottom. Lizzie is found first. She ran. She openly say that, with a cutlass cut held tightly by her hand. She is shaken, but unhurt. She can show them where the other two are. 

She ran. Anyone that can take a swing at a Whaler, at Thomas, and hit, deserves fear. She mutters about the state of Daud. She has no clue what had happened to Daud before she found him and Thomas. All of what she says is not good. Lizzie had heard the echo of a gunshot once she was away. She cannot say who was shot, she was too far away. 

It was Thomas by the looks of it. Though both men are found bloody and passed out. His chest is wrapped in fabric from the corpse lying near them. He is pulled up against Daud’s chest. Their chests rise and fall in time with each other. They are still alive. The Whalers can feel Daud’s pulse in the shared magic. 

Emily bursts from the door moment she sees the pair being carried into the deck. The Eels are not quick enough to react to her running past. She is there within only a second, hands grabbing for theirs. Emily takes their marked hands into her own, and squeezes. Tears stream down her face as she looks between Lizzie and Corvo. 

“Please…. please…. the-they aren’t. They can’t be! Please, they can’t be! Father!” Corvo kneels down and pulls her into his arms. She sobs into his shoulder, into his stained coat. 

Lizzie kneels next to them, a hand resting on Emily’s back. “They’re still breathin’ missy. The doc’ll do everything she can for ‘em.” 

“I need them!”

They lie side by side in the makeshift medical bay. They will stay there until the ship reaches Dunwall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emily has a dream that night. A dream she has not had for a long time, not since her mother died. A thin, black-eyed boy comes to see her. They sit in a field of red flowers. 
> 
> They speak not, not until Emily finds herself drifting awake. 
> 
> “Dear Emily, your Spymaster, and his love… are safe. It is not their time.” 
> 
> She wakes where she fell asleep, curled in a chair in the medical bay. A smile touches her lips. Their hands are clasped together, loosely, but still together.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at Joshthewitch on Tumblr!


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